Police log for Sunday, May 25

May 25, 2003

Accident blocks traffic on I-81

An early Saturday morning crash on Interstate 81 at Halfway Boulevard involving a Ford Mustang and a tractor-trailer which rolled over caused serious traffic tie-ups well into the afternoon, a Maryland State Police trooper said.

There were no reports of serious injuries.

The driver of the Mustang, Kathleen Anne Benson, 34, of 17144 Virginia Ave., Hagers-town, was charged with driving under the influence and negligent driving, police said.

Trooper Todd A. Weaver investigated.

The driver of the Freightliner tractor-trailer was identified as Paris E. Heard, 52, of San Bernadino, Calif.

Police said Heard was headed south in his rig round 2:10 a.m. Benson was driving in the same direction and slid on the wet road, skidded into a guardrail on the fast shoulder then skidded back across the highway, hitting that guardrail, spun out of control and hit the left front tire of the tractor-trailer.

That caused Heard to lose control of the rig and skid across the highway. It overturned on the grass median, police said.

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Tow trucks were not called to the scene until daylight to remove the vehicles. That operation and the cleanup of debris that spilled out of the tractor-trailer took hours, police said. Traffic was backed up and detoured on U.S. 11 through early afternoon.

Police said the cleanup was delayed until daylight because of safety concerns related to the weather conditions and darkness.

Girl, 7, struck by car in Hagerstown

A 7-year-old Hagerstown girl was treated at Washington County Hospital on Saturday for injuries she received when she was struck by a car on South Potomac Street.

Danielle Smith, of the 800 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, was hit as she ran out between two parked cars in the 800 block of South Potomac Street at 5:55 p.m. Saturday, Hagerstown Police said.

He was arrested in the parking lot of Sheetz on the 300 block of East Washington Street after he allegedly entered a confidential narcotics informant's vehicle in the parking lot of Duke's Tavern, police said.

Rodney Carl Norman, of no fixed address, was charged with conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, police said. Norman is accused of lining up the drug deal with the informant, police said.

Kearneysville man struck by train

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A 40-year-old Kearneysville man was being treated in the progressive intensive care unit at Winchester, Va., Medical Center on Saturday night after being struck by a train in Vanclevesville on Saturday morning, police said.

The Berkeley County Sheriff's Department identified the man as James Riner.

Riner's condition could not be learned because of new hospital privacy rules.

Details of the incident were not available Saturday night.

The incident involved an eastbound freight train. It was not known what Riner was doing on the tracks.